Day 12- Ashley Ferri

I know that this is super cheesy and cliche to say, but I really do think it's as fun to give as it is to receive. I tease Tom about how I end up doing most of our Christmas shopping, but I really love to do it. I spend hours debating each gift and each decision online and in the stores, hoping to find the perfect thing for each person.

I wake up with my tail wagging each Christmas not because I am so excited to open my own gifts (although I should say that I do appreciate them oh so much). Rather, I can't wait to see the looks on the faces of the recipients of these gifts that I have so carefully selected. I must admit that it's somewhat disappointing to see my gifts tossed into a pile or to see that they have not generated any real excitement. They just don't understand what it is yet, I think to myself, or Once he uses it, he'll understand how much he needed it.

Imagine my delight when my gifts generate exactly the response I am hoping for! Today Tom and I had Christmas with my in-laws in Texas, our fifth and last Christmas of the season, and the last chance to see our gifts opened and enjoyed this year. Thanks to Tom's sister, Ashley, we sent out the giving season with a bang. Each gift she opened was met with an "OOOOOOOOOoohhh!" or an "Ahhhhh" or some other kind of thankful squeal. While these noises may often times be used in a fake yay-I'm-excited-but-I'm-actually-returning-this sort of way, hers were not. She made us feel as if she was genuinely overjoyed with each rip of the paper and unveiling of a treasure. If she wasn't, the girl deserves an Oscar!

Thanks, Ashley Ferri, you made my day.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Some Stories. About Stories.

Image
  One of my greatest passions and joys is matchmaking between people and the books that will get them reading and speak to their souls. Sharing stories, both real and fictional, is transformative. It’s how we connect to one another. It’s how we travel to places we can’t afford. It’s how we learn about people we’ve yet to meet. It’s how we pass on history. It’s how we explore religion. The universe is made up of atoms and molecules, but it is also built on stories. I don’t believe that there are nonreaders; there are just some people who haven’t met the right book yet. I did not invent this idea, but it is a core philosophy I live by in my classroom and in my life on a daily basis. One of my favorite eligible reader stories was a boy who came into my intervention class with low confidence in his skills and in his ability to grow them and put them to work. He told me on the first day that he was not a reader and would never be one, so I might as well not bother. Ah! I love a good cha...
Read more

Day 83- Applesauce

How to become a kid again in three simple steps. Become a teacher.  Spend your break time conversing with students about whether or not Twilight is good reading (it's not, sorry) and explaining how everything they're learning is important (it is) and discussing how Shaun White's private halfpipe is the sweetest thing to ever exist (it might be).    Start taking a lunchbox to work.  Swing it while you walk, embrace it, love it. Pack applesauce in your lunch every day.  An applesauce a day keeps the old age away.  In the initial lunch packing stages of this semester, I always made sure that I had some kind of little sweet treat included to enjoy at the end of lunch.  Over the past few weeks, little applesauce cups have also become a part of the daily routine, and I enjoy this just as much.  I love how it tastes.  I love the little perfectly portioned cup.  I love that eating it makes me feel good and ...
Read more

Day 196- Summery Dinner

Tonight's menu was a good one!  Our weather here has been so nice this week.  We've only been in the mid 80's, and it has actually been cooling down at night.  We have been taking advantage of this by doing some major grilling and enjoying lots of summer foods.  Today's Specials Chipotle Lime Chicken Southwestern Cornbread Salad grilled bananas grilled pineapple We covered all of the food groups in the most delicious and summery of ways (plus, it was pretty healthy too).  If you have never tried grilled bananas, you really should.  They're so good that it's bananas!  Grilled Bananas Recipe 1. Cut off the ends (leaving peel intact). 2. Grill the bananas until the peels turn a darkish brown color and the insides are soft. 3. Gently slice the peel and scoop out the warm gooey goodness. 4. Eat. 5. Sigh with satisfaction. 6. Repeat steps 4-5 many, many times. It's just as easy as that.  The salad was a whole lot more involved, ...
Read more